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“Do you take back what you said about sand yet?”
Aster accepted the new cocktail that Dante held out to him, which a server had brought over moments ago on a silver tray. Some desert fruit blended with rich dark liquor, a tad too sweet but not intolerable, with a yellow paper umbrella stuck in the top, and just enough ice to cut the desert heat. He held the first sip in his mouth, allowing it to roll over his tongue.
“No,” he said, having swallowed.
Dante laughed. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
What self-respecting vampire wouldn’t enjoy half a month at an exclusive oasis resort? Their combined statuses had ensured the finest villa, a private two-room bungalow overlooking the water, and round-the-clock staff to ensure Aster’s glass stayed full. It was a good choice, much better than the options the clan members had readily given. If they had been allowed to make the plans, Aster would have spent his honeymoon on a tedious tour of the continent smiling for other people’s photographs.
But sand . . .
It was everywhere, stuck to everything (even places that had never touched it!), scorching in the sun yet frigid as soon as the sun went down. The views here, though, seen from the refreshing shade of a desert palm, did not disappoint.
Nor did the ring on his left hand that he had not stopped lifting into his own field of vision since Dante had slipped it onto his finger: red tourmaline, ten point six caret, cushion cut, set into a gold band—so massive on his petite finger that Aster had nearly rejected it for something more delicate. It caught the sunlight, sparkling as he wiggled his fingers.
“If you dislike it, we can have another made.”
“I wasn’t sure it suited me, at first, but it’s growing on me. You should’ve had a matching one made for yourself.”
“I wouldn’t wear it half as well.”
“Are you calling me flashy, darling?”
God of Klein, he hadn’t meant to say it. Curse that tacky paper umbrella and the drink it was stuck in, but most of all, curse that e-droid for putting the word into his head—the very endearment he and Dante had mocked in private only that morning! Hadn’t Aster vowed, not two hours ago, that they’d never be that type of couple?
Too late; it was out now. Aster fanned himself with a hand and did not look in Dante’s direction until the heat left his face.
“I think I’ll go into the water,” he said.
In his haste to escape, he forgot his sandals beneath the lounge chair and rushed across the scorching sand that separated him from the spring. His embarrassment was unfounded. With Blade’s constant use of the endearment, it was only a matter of time before the others picked it up. Why, Aster was certain he’d overheard Yakumo use it the other day! And it wasn’t as though he had done something mortifying like slip and use it on that fox yokai (although that might be effective). He’d used it on his—
…
Was the word that difficult to say, even in his own head?
He waded into the clear water, sighing as it washed the fever from his skin. He was acting like a child—or, well, how he expected a child would act. With no experience, he couldn’t say.
That was the heart of the matter. He’d never done any of this. A hundred years on this continent and that man sitting behind him, one fifth his age, held a list of Aster’s firsts.
He walked forward until the water bobbed at chest height, then spread his arms and propelled himself through the water. It filled his ears, blotting out the world. Turning onto his back, he floated while the sun beat down on him.
When his foot struck something, he opened his eyes to find a certain Sun Lord standing in the water near him, his long red hair tied up to keep it out of the water, wearing a pair of tinted glasses to block the sun.
“Cooler?” Dante asked.
Aster lowered his feet to the bottom of the spring. Standing on tiptoe, the spring came up to his chin. A feigned yawn accidentally caught a mouthful of water, and he coughed while kicking his feet to bring his shoulders above the surface. It had never been this awkward between them before! What was in those cocktails?
“Hold onto me.”
Dante’s arms encircled him. Aster thought of ducking out from under them and swimming back to shore, but he thought better and let Dante lift him higher. His face safely above the water, Aster wrapped his legs around Dante’s waist and crossed his ankles.
This close, he couldn’t help but look at him, so he closed his eyes and initiated a kiss as a distraction. Dante had been insatiable since their arrival, but there was nothing hurried in the way he kissed Aster now. He pressed his lips to Aster’s and held still for several breaths.
“I retract something I said this morning.”
“Oh?” Aster said.
“Certain words …” Dante kissed him again. “...are less distasteful from your lips.”
Horrified, Aster shoved a handful of water at him. “It’s the cocktails!”
“We should get food in you.”
Aster perked up. “I am a little thirsty.”
As Dante turned his head, Aster nosed his neck, mouth already watering from the anticipation of his favorite flavor. “People are watching,” he whispered.
“They’ll watch you for the rest of your life now that you’ve married me.”
Aster didn’t know a vampire alive that liked to eat with an audience. He traced Dante’s jaw with a fingernail.
“I might like to sleep afterwards.”
“Then should we return to the room?”
Aster nodded solemnly. “I think so.” Into Dante’s ear he whispered, “Fewer eyes.”
He was kissed again, swiftly, and carried out of the water. As they were crossing the beach, Dante cursed.
“What is it?”
“The sand! It’s sticking to my legs.”
Aster’s laughter echoed all the way back to the villa.